May 11 to 17 is Mental Health Awareness Week, and mental health is one of the big reasons I became an MP.
Poor investment in mental health services has let a lot of people down over decades, and frankly, centuries, leading to endless generational trauma.
That’s why I’m so proud that this government has:
-
Modernised the Mental Health Act, giving people a greater say in their care, reducing the number of unnecessary detentions and tackling racial disparities.
-
Recruited 8,500 additional mental health workers since June 2024, meeting a key government target three years ahead of schedule.
-
Announced an investment of £473m in mental health infrastructure by 2030 to modernise facilities, expand neighbourhood mental health services and increase crisis care capacity.
-
Allocated £7m to 24 community support hubs to expand their drop-in mental health support for young people aged 11 to 25.
It’s also why I spend a lot of my time in Westminster lobbying for better family and mental health support when people start a family.
This can be one of the hardest times in people’s lives, when mental health can take a nose dive for both men and women, and I truly believe that more investment in this time of life will have the biggest impact on long-term mental health (and all the data shows this too).
Mental health isn’t an easy fix, but it matters.
So whether it’s wholesale reform of our mental health provision in this country, or whether it’s just a cup of tea sat in the garden, we can all work together to look after our brains and emotions more
